This invention relates to a floor covering measuring and cutting apparatus and more particularly to an improved apparatus of this type for the handling, unrolling, rerolling, cutting and packaging of floor covering materials of varying widths in a simplified system which can be operated by a single operator.
Machines for the handling of floor covering materials, such as carpeting and linoleum are well recognized and in use. They includes structures for supporting and unwinding bulk rolls, measuring the floor covering material taken therefrom, rolling up a desired cut length and wrapping the same. Known machines of this type are generally complex in structure, requiring relatively large floor space, special machinery for handling the floor covering rolls for unloading and loading the same on the machine and a plurality of people to operate the same. Examples of such machines can be found in the patents to Keesling U.S. Pat. No. Re. 28,414 dated May 6, 1976 and entitled FABRIC CUTTING AND MEASURING MACHINE, and Lee U.S. Pat. No. 3,228,620 dated Jan. 11, 1966 and entitled YARDAGE COMBINE. Such equipment, because of its size and complexity requires a special installation, special equipment for operating the same and plurality of operators.
Our prior patent application, Ser. No. 761,639 filed Jan. 24, 1977 entitled MEASURING AND CUTTING APPARATUS FOR FLOOR COVERING is directed to a portable machine of this general type. While this meets the need for a machine capable of handling carpeting and linoleum in various sizes which is portable such that it may be moved to various locations, the problem of handling bulk rolls associated with such machinery, both in unrolling and rerolling of the same, and the difficulty in starting and guiding wide widths of floor covering material on the rollup shaft and the covering of the same for packaging creates delays in operation of the apparatus. Further, the problems of accurately feeding carpeting from a bulk roll onto a machine so that it runs true to the guides thereof makes the application of a portable machine undesirable.